AFM Manufacturer list

The following is a simple alphabetical list of, hopefully, all the AFM manufacturers in the world. If you have any additions to make, get in touch via the contact form. For AFM probes, look at the SPM Probes list, and for reference samples, see the SPM References list. Note: I have moved the companies that are no longer separate businesses to a new list, below.

Name and Website

Comments

AFM Workshop

www.afmworkshop.com
Set up by a very experienced AFM designer, AFMWorkshop started only in 2010. AFMWorkshop produce high-value AFMs, some of which are available as a self-assembly kit or as prebuilt instruments. They also sell a large-sample AFM, a life-science instrument, an instrument designed for 2D materials, and a tip-scanning AFM.

A.P.E. Research

www.apreresearch.com
A.P.E. Research appears to be a small spinoff company from the University of Trieste in Italy. They have AFM, STM, and SNOM instruments.

Asylum Research

afm.oxinst.com

Asylum make two instruments, available in a wide range of configurations. Like Bruker, they claim to make the highest resolution and fastest scanning instruments available. Asylum Research is now an Oxford Instruments company.

ATC

www.nanoscopy.net/en

ATC, Advanced Technologies Center, is a Russian manufacturer with one AFM instrument.

Bruker

http://www.bruker.com/afm

Formerly Veeco, and before that, Digital Instruments, this company is the longest lived and largest AFM manufacturer in the world. Bruker sell a very wide range of instruments. At the top end of the range, they claim to have the highest resolution and fastest scanning of commercial instruments.

CS Instruments

www.csinstruments.eu/

The French company CS Instruments produce the low-cost Nano-observer AFM, and are also known for electrical mode addons for other instruments.

DME

www.dme-spm.com
Danish Micro Engineering, is a small but long-lasting manufacturer with a range of AFMs and STMs. They design and build custom instruments, and a combined AFM/SEM/FIB instrument.

GETec

www.getec-afm.com
GETec offers custom AFM solutions for integration into existing host systems (e.g. SEM/FIB) using self-sensing probes.

Hitachi

www.hitachi-hightech.com
Hitachi sell a small range of AFM instruments, having acquired SII Nanotechnology.

ICSPI

icspicorp.com

ICSPI, Integrated Circuit Scanning Probe Instruments, sell the nGuage, an unusual small form factor AFM. This instrument using a MEMS scanner with integrated tip. The instrument is extremely compact. ICSPI started in 2007 as a spinoff from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

Molecular Vista

molecularvista.com

Molecular Vista specialise in nano-IR and TERS instruments.

Nanoanalytik

nanoanalytik.net

German company that make a range of systems with self-actuating and self-sensing probes, and also sell the probes.

Nanosurf

www.nanosurf.com

Nanosurf is a Swiss AFM manufacturer which offer a wide range of SPM products.

Nanonics

www.nanonics.co.il

An Israeli company, Nanonics specialise in integrated Raman/SNOM AFM instruments.

Nenovision

www.nenovision.com

Nenovision, based in Brno, Czech Republic,  manufacture a small SPM for use in correlative microscopy inside an SEM.

NT-MDT

www.ntmdt.com

Long-lived Russian manufacturer with a wide range of AFM and STM instruments.

Park Systems

www.parksystems.com

Korea-based AFM manufacturer with a wide range of systems.

RHK Technology

www.rhk-tech.com

USA-based company focussing on UHV (ultra high vacuum) AFM and STM systems.

RIBM

www.ribm.co.jp/en/
RIBM, standing for Research Institute of Biomolecule Metrology, is a spinoff from the work of Toshio Ando, the developer of truly high-speed AFM. They sell a range of instruments focussing on high speed scanning for biomolecule dynamics visualisation.

Witec

www.witec.de

Manufacturer specialising in AFM combined with SNOM or Raman.

 

Defunct AFM Companies (not a full list!)

Name and Website

Comments

Anasys

www.anasysinstruments.com
Anasys specialises in infrared/AFM and thermal/AFM measurements. They sold addons for popular commercial microscopes, and standalone instruments. They are now a part of Bruker's AFM division

JPK

www.jpk.com

JPK specialise in bio-applications, with AFMs designed for integration with inverted optical microscopes. Since 2018, they have been a part of Bruker's AFM division

Keysight

www.keysight.com

Keysight was spun off from Agilent, which had bought the technology of Molecular Imaging, one of the oldest AFM companies. They ceased AFM operations around 2017.

Nano Pacific

www.nano-pacific.com.au

New manufacturer offering a range of instruments at reasonable prices. Website offline, I presume they are defunct.

Nanotec

www.nanotec.es

Set up by researchers from Autonoma University in Madrid, they sold mostly in Spain. Became defunct in 2015. Also created the WSxM software package.

If you would like to have an entry on this list, contact me: contact form.